Minsk, 10 December 1996 (RFE/RL) -- Belarus police arrested six people in Minsk who were among some 500 students demonstrating today to mark International Human Rights Day.

The protest, organized by youth groups, was peaceful. The demonstrators also protested the autocratic policies of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. But reporters say that just as the rally was breaking up, police rushed at the students and seized six of them, twisting their arms and forcing them into a police van.

The officers refused to release the detainees' names or explain the reason for their arrest.